Eventually, I forced myself to get up. My body protested, every muscle aching, but I was done sitting around waiting to die. If something was going to kill me, it could at least do me the courtesy of making me work for it.
I wandered through the room, taking in my surroundings. The atmosphere had shifted. The heavy, suffocating dread was gone, replaced by something… lighter. Not exactly cheerful, but almost childish. The walls were decorated with colorful shapes—triangles, cubes, rectangles—lined up along the ceiling like some kind of kindergarten art project. It was unsettling in its own way, like a haunted daycare.
The silence was thick, but not as oppressive as before. I walked slowly, my footsteps echoing down the empty hallway. After a while, I turned a corner and stopped dead in my tracks.
There, at the end of the hall, stood a little girl.
She wasn't terrifying, not like the ghost woman or the bull monster. But there was something off about her. She smiled at me, a strange, knowing smile that made my skin crawl. Maybe it was just this place—maybe everything here was designed to make me feel like I was losing my mind.
She wore a wide, elegant dress, the kind you'd see in old portraits, with lace and ribbons and all that nonsense. Her hair was long and black, her eyes a piercing blue. She clutched a teddy bear to her chest, hugging it like it was her only friend in the world.
She raised a hand and beckoned me to follow her. I hesitated, but honestly, what choice did I have? If she wanted to kill me, she could probably do it with a smile. I followed her into a room that looked like it belonged to a child—stuffed animals piled on the bed, a tiny table set up for tea, little plates and cups arranged neatly.
"Would you like to sit with me?" she asked, her voice soft and formal, like a little princess from a storybook.
I sat down, awkward and stiff, glancing around the room. She didn't seem dangerous. In fact, she seemed genuinely happy to see me, which was more than I could say for anyone else in this hellhole.
"It's been so long since I've had a guest," she said, arranging the cups with careful precision. "I'm very glad you're here."
"Yeah, well, I'm not exactly here by choice," I muttered, trying not to sound too harsh. "But thanks, I guess."
She giggled, a sound that was both innocent and a little eerie. "Would you like some tea?" she asked, already moving to her tiny kitchen. I watched her, half-expecting her to pull out a knife or start chanting in Latin, but she just filled a little teapot and brought it over, struggling a bit with the weight.
She poured the tea into the cups, careful not to spill a drop. The stuffed animals at the table watched in silence, their button eyes unblinking. I looked at my cup. The liquid inside was dark, almost reddish. Not exactly what I expected.
I glanced at her. She was watching me, waiting for me to take a sip. I raised the cup to my lips, bracing myself for the worst. To my surprise, the tea was… good. Really good. Chamomile with a hint of vanilla, warm and soothing.
"This is… actually pretty nice," I said, surprised.
She smiled, pleased. "I'm glad you like it. I sweetened it with what little honey I had left."
I raised an eyebrow. "You sure it's just honey? Not, I don't know, blood or something?"
She giggled again, covering her mouth with her hand. "Oh, no, that was just a joke. I wouldn't do something like that. I promise."
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "You've got a weird sense of humor, kid."
She looked at me, head tilted. "What's your name?"
"Itsumi," I replied. "Itsumi Matzuri."
She nodded, thoughtful. "That's a nice name. I… I don't have a name."
That caught me off guard. "No name? How's that possible?"
She shrugged, hugging her teddy bear tighter. "No one ever gave me one."
For a moment, I was back in my childhood, remembering my little cousin—my sweet, shy cousin who always wanted to play tea party. Her name was Yurei. She looked a lot like this girl.
I smiled, just a little. "How about Yurei? That was my cousin's name. She was a good kid. You remind me of her."
The girl's face lit up, her blue eyes shining. "Yurei… I like that. Thank you, big brother Itsumi!"
I blinked, surprised by the sudden warmth in my chest. For the first time since I got here, I didn't feel completely alone.
"Yeah… you're welcome, Yurei."
She beamed at me, and for a moment, the nightmare faded, replaced by something almost normal.